I finished applying my first white coating on every portraits. I hesitated between starting the second coating (I will need to apply three white coatings before I can start coloring the portraits) and starting to paint the backgrounds. Since the background color influences the aspect of the personnages, I decided to paint them now. During my tests, I had painted the backgrounds with black acrylic before using the oils. But looking back, I found the color to be too dark and so I decided at the last minute to do my encollage (fix my drawings) on the whole surface of the panel with a sienna dirt colored mixture. It is an option I had not tested and so I was a bit apprehensive of the results. This week, I applied a semi-transparent blue to see if I could somehow play with the tonal variations of my encollage. I am happy with the effect. I will eventually give a second coat, to add more depth to the color. But I like this blue, I find it more luminous and interesting than the black I used for the test paintings. Hence, I will apply it to all my portraits. I finished three panels last week and will try to finish them all this week. It is a rather long process, it takes me around three hours each panel.

About Marie H. Sirois

MARIE H. SIROIS is a painter working on a colossal project, called The Schumann + Wieck Symphony, about German composer Robert Schumann and his wife, virtuoso pianist Clara Wieck. Exhibiting one visual movement every 4 years, this project will take her 16 years to make from beginning till end.

Quote

"To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist."

Robert Schumann

The Schumann + Wieck Symphony

Marie H. Sirois’ Schumann and Wieck’s Symphony, which allies painting and music, is a celebration of Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck’s life and works and is an illustration of art’s richness and interactivity.

Notorious German composer, Robert Schumann and his wife, virtuoso pianist Clara Wieck, lived a complex and passionate love affair. Their relationship is the foundation for four series of paintings through which are represented, as a symphony in four movements, the transformation of the couple’s feelings with the important events that shaped their relationship.

Schumann’s music holds a crucial place in the project. Each visual movement is associated with and inspired by one of his musical scores. The night of the opening shows, Marie interprets these musical pieces on the piano.

The First Movement, Le Prélude, was introduced in November 2014. Marie is now working on the Second Movement, Concert sans orchestre.